Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Yes, More Gun Summit "Reporting"

Menino said in 12 years as mayor he has not seen a similar movement by big city leaders to take on the gun industry and stiffen federal gun laws.

God forbid, Tom, you and your gun-grabbing cohorts should ever decide to take on the criminal offenders, or stiffen sentencing guidelines for the same.

Menino said the mayors intend to travel to Washington with a message about the relationship between gun laws and the thousands of Americans who die at the hands of firearms annually.

No doubt, he'll be sure the mention the decrease in the nationwide violent crime rate that has happened concurrently with more and more statesloosening their restrictions on the rights of law-abiding citizens to carry concealed weapons for self-defense purposes.

Note: These numbers are from 2004. If anyone hasmore current data, feel free to forward it to me.

Or not.

And, from the Department of Numeric-Rectal Extractions, comes this claim by New York Mayor, and gun summit co-host, Michael Bloomberg:

...1 percent of gun dealers supply 60 percent of guns used in crimes.

No doubt, he also presented documentation to back up his assertion.

Or not.

And, I'm sure Menino and Bloomberg welcomed input from both sides of the gun rights debate, in the interest of fairness and all.

Lawrence G. Keane, a senior vice president at the National Shooting Sports Foundation, a Connecticut-based trade association, said his organization runs a program that helps gun dealers identify and stop illegal ''straw purchasers," people who buy guns legally with the intention of selling them illegally. Keane said his group asked to attend the gun summit and was turned away, which he found especially disturbing because the mayors invited gun control advocate Joshua Horwitz of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence.

Or not.

"There doesn't appear to have been any attempt to have a mature and balanced discussion," Keane said.

Shocking, I know.

A study, released Monday and conducted by researchers from the University of Toledo, Kent State University, and Wayne State University, shows police chiefs across the country also support tougher gun-control measures.

Something tells me the results of this survey taken by the National Association of Chiefs of Police were not presented to the gun summit attendees (nor the writers and editors at the Globe).

3. Should any law-abiding citizen be able to purchase a firearm for sport or self-defense? YES 93.6%

4. Within the past year, has your agency been called upon to arrest anyone who has made a false statement on an application to purchase a firearm? NO 92.2%

5. Should anyone (such as a convicted felon) in violation of state or federal firearm possession laws, be prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney and, if convicted, receive a maximum prison term? YES 89.7%

6. Do you believe law-abiding citizens should be limited to the purchase of no more than one firearm per month? NO 72.8%

7. Do you maintain that criminals currently are able to obtain basically any type of firearm by illegal means? YES 96.1%

8. Do you believe the application & training process to allow commercial airline pilots to carry firearms in the cockpit is too restrictive and burdensome? NO 53.6%

9. Will a national concealed handgun permit reduce rates of violent crime as recent studies in some states have already reflected? YES 63.1%

Call it a hunch.

Menino said the mayors tried to learn from one another.

And what better way to "learn" than to have your discussions closed off to those with differing viewpoints? This would be like President Bush sitting down with the CEO's of all the big oil companies to discuss the pros and cons of solar-powered cars.

As the mayors came to the podium to share stories about innocent children killed by stray gunfire, the day's theme became clear: America's mayors are on the front lines.

Hardly.

It's the law-abiding citizens who have been rendered defenseless by their "leaders" who are on the "front lines" - you know, the people who actually live in these crime-ridden neighborhoods, as opposed to the mayor who shows up on occasion for a little free publicity with his armed security detail and TV news camera crews in tow.

What a joke.

I hope Mike and Tom offered all the mayors and gun control lobbyists who attended this anti-gun circlejerk a complimentary sanitizing handwipe on their way out the door.

What it is...

Opinion and commentary, garnished with a sprig of cynicism, served with a heaping side order of sarcasm, and washed down with a tall glass of common sense, by a gun-toting political refugee from the People's Progressive Republic of Massachusetts, currently residing in New Hampshire and doing what he can to keep the Granite State beautiful and free.